The Crown Vic may be headed to the great scrapheap in the sky, but Ford has an ace up their sleeve to replace it for law enforcement use. Based on the 2010 Ford Taurus, the 2012 Ford Police Interceptor is not your dad’s FWD police car.

2011 Nissan NV High Roof

If you need a full size pickup, statistics show that consumers shop Ford, then Chevy, then Dodge. Way down on the List is the Toyota Tundra or the Nissan Titan; despite the Japanese companies’ best efforts to market full size pickups, Americans just don’t think of shopping for full size trucks at Toyota or Nissan.

According to our good friends over at Autoblog, the contract to award the Convertible Top Mechanism went to Magna Car Top Group. The contract was awarded to Magna after the initial contractor, Edscha AG, filed for insolvency, according to Automotive News. This is an attempt to keep the Camaro moving forward, and to keep the Retro Chevy fresh in the marketplace.

Confirming the suspicions harbored by many automotive journalists that the vast majority of the car-buying public has zero interest in vehicles that are actually fun to drive, the Toyota Camry has earned the top spot as the best selling car of December 2009. As if that fact itself were not discouraging enough to end the year on, the even less impressive Toyota Corolla managed to snag the Number 2 spot, followed closely by the Honda Accord (3rd), Honda Civic (4th), and finally, the Chevy Malibu (5th). The singular reason for this, at least by our good friend Timothy Cain’s analysis, appears to be that many consumers value basic functions over frivolous things such as “performance” and “aesthetics.” This would explain the quasi-success of the PT Cruiser.

Good news for all the expectant fanboys at the local VFW: the 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe has finally made its first appearance. Scheduled to officially debut next week at the 2010 North American International Auto Show, the high performance (though slightly chunky) coupe promises to pose a serious threat to the high-output warhorses currently thundering out of Germany. While the Caddy of legends told might have enjoyed limited popularity outside of bingo halls and Def Jam, the CTS-V coupe is a beast unlike any other. Despite the fact that GM’s corporate philosophy as a whole may leave a lot to be desired, even we – the consummate, caustic professionals – here at RideLust can’t deny a superbly engineered vehicle when we see one.

Although some might reasonably argue that its bloated proportions cause it to lag significantly behind the competition (literally), the Dodge Challenger nevertheless continues to be a favorite amongst nostalgic muscle car enthusiasts and/or balding guys with a slight paunch. Since the part of that demographic that isn’t blowing their disposable income on alimony would gladly shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars to recapture the glory days of their youth, Mopar has released yet another aftermarket package for the Challenger.

The newest offering is dubbed the “Performance Appearance” Package, which achieves the same thing for the Challenger that a hairpiece does for its driver. Available in two parts, the exterior package includes body-color hood with scoop, body-color rear “Go-Wing” spoiler and strobe stripe performance graphics, while the interior package features a Mopar-branded T-handle shifter, bright pedal kit (automatic only), bright door-sill guards, premium carpet floor mats and a full vehicle cover. Prices begin at $1,995 and $945 (respectively) and do not include the ill-fitting Ed Hardy tee or the Journey’s Greatest Hits CD.

In a desperate attempt to maintain some sort of enthusiasm for perhaps the most over-hyped vehicle since the 2010 Camaro, Chevrolet’s marketing department assembled a rag tag group of dancers to perform what appears to be an epileptic fit. While the dance/cheer/cluster successfully accomplished Chevy’s larger objective of bringing the Volt to the forefront of popular conversation, it also garnered a fair amount of criticism for brilliant lyrics such as “…V for Chevy Volt you see, it’s so simple like a dimple, plug it in and see.”

Unfortunately, contrary to what one would logically assume, the marketing team responsible for this gem was not under the influence of any illicit substances and was subsequently mildly offended by the negative feedback. According to a story published by the Detroit News this morning, Chevy claims the Volt Dance was never intended to appeal to the audience of automotive press professionals or adult car buyers, but rather to the children.

As a bittersweet farewell to one of the most tumultuous years in automotive history, RideLust presents to you a re-cap of all the biggest industry events in 2009…and a few that slipped in under editorial bias.

Rick Wagoner, Bob Nardelli, and Alan Mulally spent weeks feigning humility and destitution in three piece Brooks Brothers suits in an attempt to wrangle a billion-dollar loan from an apparently benevolent Uncle Sam. Eventually, the government acquiesced and agreed to bail out both General Motors and Chrysler so as not to interrupt their steady production of poorly built, aesthetically unappealing vehicles.

Stunt double Ben Collins outed himself as Top Gear’s infamous masked driver, The Stig, potentially blowing the sweetest gig on planet Earth. Rather than kill him off, Top Gear attempted to counter the rumors by fingering (::snicker::) legendary racer Michael Schumacher as The Stig. Gearheads in America with an Internet connection that’s too slow to cope with downloading the weekly BBC broadcast still don’t give a rat’s ass.

There was some sort of F1 scandal involving Renault intentionally throwing the Singapore Gran Prix, but we were too immersed in our rally obsession to care. Just Google it or something.

As per their plan to cut costs and pretend to pay back taxpayers, GM made the logical decision to axe one of the only remaining brands that consumers still cared about, Pontiac. Shortly after the announcement, rumors began to circulate that the late John DeLorean’s company was interested in purchasing the rights to produce the Pontiac Solstice. The idea, much like the DMC-12, was short lived.

Drawing heavily from the blatantly phallic styling of the Ambiguously Gay Duo’s car, Porsche released it’s first 4-door sedan, the Panamera.

Adding to the Ford Flex’s already sizable reputation as one of the coolest people movers on the market, the Friends of the National Automotive History Collection (NAHC) recently bestowed upon it a new honor, awarding it 2009’s “Most Collectible Vehicle of the Future.” Apparently, the Flex’s unique, retro-modern styling not only makes it a hear turner today but also guarantees it plenty of limelight at the Woodward Dream Cruise in 2034.

Ford is naturally elated by the news. “We are delighted that the Ford Flex has been recognized by the NAHC as having a design that will become a collectible of the future,” said Kate Pearce, Flex marketing manager at Ford. “We knew from the start that we had a vehicle with stand-out design that looks like nothing else on the road, but that also meets the needs of our customers looking for passenger space with innovative technology and great fuel economy,” she said. “Reaction from our customers has been fantastic and we hope they will enjoy their cars long into the future.”

Of course, some critics may dismiss the optional wood paneling, mini fridge, and panoramic moonroof as red herrings meant to distract from the fact that, at its core, the Flex is nothing more than the Windstar’s cleverly-disguised successor. While they may be right in some respects, it is imperative that naysayers not forget that while the Flex may posses some inherently minivan qualities, it still remains unparalleled in its class. In 2034, the Dodge Caravan will be rusting out behind a tool shed in northern Michigan, the Toyota Sienna will be scattered in charred bits along I-95, and the Honda Odyssey will still be lame.

Full disclosure: the next journalist to use some variation of the word “cracked” to describe the Honda P-NUT’s debut is getting kicked in the shins at the next auto show. I’ll be watching.

Unlike the majority of the unpalatable concepts that have littered Honda’s booth for the better part of 2009, the Personal-Neo Urban Transport (P-NUT) does not immediately offend the senses. As a matter of fact, the angular front fascia and the well-defined, sloping shoulders are actually quite attractive and almost lend Honda’s design department an air of hope. “Almost” being the operative word.

Unfortunately, the P-NUT unveiled live in Los Angeles last week is not a production-ready urban crawler but a purely a conceptual interpretation of the soul-sucking enviro-friendly vehicles Honda promises to roll out in the future. Apparently, the RWD, rear-engined P-NUT’s primary objective is to demonstrate that there is hope for the ultra-compact city car beyond the ugly, underpowered options currently available today, which is basically akin to performing a digital makeover. The immediate reaction is positive…and instantly killed by the harsh smack of reality.

Bottom line: if you want small, fun, cool and only slightly fruity, buy a MINI Cooper. If you want small, marginally faster than a pair of Rollerblades, and guaranteed to score you plenty of dude poon, buy a smart ForTwo. See Honda? Theoretical problem solved. Now get back to work on the CR-Z.